A More Comprehensive Introduction

About the Book

A classic resource on feminist theory, Feminist Thought offers a clear, comprehensive, and incisive introduction to the major traditions of feminist theory, from liberal feminism, radical feminism, and Marxist and socialist feminism to care-focused feminism, psychoanalytic feminism, and ecofeminism.

The fifth edition has been thoroughly revised, and now includes a new chapter on Third Wave and Third Space Feminism. Also added to this edition are significantly expanded discussions on women of color feminisms, psychoanalytic and care feminisms, as well as new examinations of queer theory, LGBTQ and trans feminism.

Learning tools like end-of-chapter discussion questions and the bibliography make Feminist Thought an essential resource for students and thinkers who want to understand the theoretical origins and complexities of contemporary feminist debates.

About the Author

Rosemarie Tong is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and the former director of the Center for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Internationally recognized for her contributions to feminist thought and bioethics, Dr. Tong is past coordinator of the International Network on Feminist Approaches to Bioethics and a recent past Chair of the Committee on the Status of Women for the American Philosophical Association.

Tina Fernandes Botts is an assistant professor of philosophy at California State University, Fresno. She is the editor of Philosophy and the Mixed Race Experience, published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2016, and is the former chair of the American Philosophical Association's Committee on the Status of Black Philosophers. She is currently the co-editor of the APA's Newsletter on Philosophy and the Black Experience.

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The H-Spot

By Jill Filipovic

What do women want? The same thing men were promised in the Declaration of Independence: happiness, or at least the freedom to pursue it.

For women, though, pursuing happiness is a complicated endeavor, and if you head out into America and talk to women one-on-one, as Jill Filipovic has done, you see that happiness is indelibly shaped by the constraints of gender, the expectations of feminine sacrifice, and the myriad ways that womanhood itself differs along lines of race, class, location, and identity.

In The H-Spot, Filipovic argues that the main obstacle standing in-between women and happiness is a rigged system. In this world of unfinished feminism, men have long been able to "have it all" because of free female labor, while the bar of achievement for women has only gotten higher. Never before have women at every economic level had to work so much (whether it's to be an accomplished white-collar employee or just make ends meet). Never before have the standards of feminine perfection been so high. And never before have the requirements for being a "good mother" been so extreme. If our laws and policies made women's happiness and fulfillment a goal in and of itself, Filipovic contends, many of our country's most contentious political issues-from reproductive rights to equal pay to welfare spending-would be swiftly resolved.

Filipovic argues that it is more important than ever to prioritize women's happiness-and that doing so will make men's lives better, too. Here, she provides an outline for a feminist movement we all need and a blueprint for how policy, laws, and society can deliver on the promise of the pursuit of happiness for all.

A History of U.S. Feminisms

By Rory C. Dicker

Reviews

"Feminist Thought cogently demonstratesthe diverse and rich areas of feminist theory-from radical to differencefeminism, Tong and Botts detail the ways that race, gender, class, andsexuality intertwine in understandings of oppression and power."â€”Erin Heidt-Forsythe, Pennsylvania State University

"This book is the most comprehensive survey of feminist thought in theU.S. from the eighteenth century to the present that I have found. The authorsdo an excellent job of setting the historical context and demonstrating howfeminist thought has evolved and developed based upon multiple perspectives. Itis the best overall survey of feminist thought in the U.S. to date."â€”Glenna L. Simons, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College